The little Delta-jerk in suit

I almost missed the flight. It was not because the breakfast was 20 minutes delayed in the morning and that I had to hang around the hostel longer than expected. And it was not because I again travelled to Terminal four without checking, when my flight left from Terminal two. I had to take one of the bus transfers. And it was because the information desk first sent me to Terminal three either. Still arrived to the check-in with plenty of time to spare. It was all because of the little Delta-jerk in suit, who stood there checking tickets before arriving to the check-in counter.

 

There was some problem with the Delta-policy, to control immigration he claimed, so they didn’t allow for stays over a certain number of days. He claimed I had to change the ticket. Although I am entitled to a 90-day visa in Peru and answered all his 100-question interrogation about why coming to Spain for this flight, he wasn’t convinced.  He led me to the Delta-ticket counter for changing ticket. This would not be good at all as I would not have enough time in South America and it would leave me stranded in Spain once again, I thought.

 

Well at the counter, the lady saw that I had an outward Delta flight but an inward Avianca/Air France flight. She could not change it and were phoning the other companies without any luck. It took a horrendous amount of time. When it was only five minutes left of check-in I was convinced I would never get past the jerk in suit but somehow she made a fake itinerary with an earlier return date, which I showed to the jerk in suit and I could check in. In the last minute.

 

The security for flights going to US was just ridiculous. I will in the future avoid any US air carrier if possible. Even if it is cheaper it cannot be worth the hassle they make you go through. May Delta go bankrupt soon.

I will let you have the laugh

I stayed in Spain one week longer than I was hoping to. This may not sound bad to some but considering the winter, the cold climate in Madrid and the extremely light clothes in my luggage, it was not too pleasant.  Here is what happened:

 

I went to catch my flight to South America.  I first didn’t see it on the departure board and I was slightly annoyed with myself as I didn’t check with terminal it departed from. In Madrid, all my flights have always departed from Terminal four so I go there automatically now without checking.  To get to terminals one, two or three, you have to use another underground station so before taking the bus transfer, I thought being clever and ask in the information desk exactly where it was.

 

The guys in the airport information just stood there with their mouths open. “You didn’t know?” they asked. “Know what?” I was almost as surprised myself. The airline is bankrupt and stopped flying a couple of weeks ago.

 

Apparently there was a big story in Spain with lots of people who couldn’t get back after Christmas/New Year but as it is a small Spanish airline, not flying to northern Europe, there was nothing in the main coverage in either BBC or SVT.

 

It took a couple of days to submit the complaint letters and organise for alternative tickets and next departure was 6.5 days after the first one. Considering the short timeframe the ticket wasn’t too expensive but still cost me more than the first one. Although, if I manage to get the money back from the first flight, it will not be a big catastrophe in my budget.

 

 

Salamanca and El Escorial

As I had a few days to spare in and around Madrid, I thought it should be nice to see something different so I made a couple of excursions to cities I haven’t visited before.  Salamanca, two hours away to the northwest, is a picturesque and lively city with grand old-style architectural elegance and today serves as an important University-town, with a young population. It is undoubtfully Castilla’s most beautiful city and with the excellent central square (Plaza Mayor) and a grand cathedral, it is definitely worth a visit.

El Escorial on the other hand, is much closer to Madrid and houses an enormous Royal monastery with adjoined gardens. The weekend I visited there were some celebrations in town and everyone brought their animals out (horses, dogs, cats, rabbits etc) as they celebrated the saint of animals.

 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year 2010 to all of you.

May it be a prosperous year in terms of new experiences.